Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Do You Know What I Am?


Do you know what this little guy is? I had never seen it before or if I had I walked right by thinking it was an oddly shaped orange. But last week, while at the market with my sister, she introduced me to these. They are called minneola tangelos.

A minneola is a hybrid of a grapefruit and a tangerine (which are also called mandarin oranges). Their skin is a bit darker and redder than an orange.It tastes to me like a very mild grapefruit. Their skin is loose like a tangelo and very easy to peel. The pear shaped end is almost like a pull tab to remove the skin and with little- to no-seeds like make a great traveling snack.

A little research told me that this was introduced in 1931, much to my surprise as I thought it was a relatively new development. Like other citrus fruit, minneolas are high in fiber and vitamin C. Their sweet-sour flavor goes well with salads and adding their juice makes a great vinaigrette. In recipes, you could substitute them for lemons or grapefruits to give dishes a new dimension.

I would recommend trying these tasty little treats.

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